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Sets

A set is a named bundle of packages, files, and shell fragments. Each machine lists the sets it wants. That one indirection is what makes several Macs practical: your laptop takes core and web, the desktop takes core and work, and neither needs to know about the other’s tools.

What a set looks like

Section titled “What a set looks like”
sets/
  core/
    set.toml
    shell/
      10-path.zsh
      99-dotfix-status.zsh
  web/
    set.toml
    files/
      gitconfig

set.toml declares the packages and the managed files:

description = "Base set, active on every machine"


[[files]]
source = "files/gitconfig"
target = "~/.gitconfig"


[packages]
brew = ["fzf", "htop", "ripgrep"]
cask = ["font-figtree"]

Which sets a machine takes

Section titled “Which sets a machine takes”
Terminal window
dotfix sets                    # list, marking the ones this machine uses
dotfix sets --enable web       # add `web` to this machine
dotfix sets --disable web      # remove it again

This writes to machines/<name>.toml, which also records anything this machine deliberately ignores.

Splitting the first set

Section titled “Splitting the first set”

Setting up your first Mac puts everything into core. That is a starting point, not a recommendation — the split is a judgement only you can make.

A practical order: leave the things every machine needs in core, then move whole toolchains out into their own set. Editing set.toml by hand is expected; there is no command that guesses the boundaries for you.

Next steps

Section titled “Next steps”